Name: Courtney Hallam Exceptionality: Autism Spectrum Disorder
Hollis
The IDEA defines autism as a developmental disability affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social
interaction that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
Definition
The APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders claims that autism spectrum disorder has four
main areas including autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, or pervasive
developmental disorder not otherwise specified. In order to be diagnosed with ASD, one must meet certain criteria.
There is no medical test available for ASD as the specific
neurobiological cause is unknown. However, it is
recommended that children are screened with a
standardized autism-specific screening tool at 18-months
of age and 24-months of age again to check for regressed
Identification
development. Children who fail screening tests or whose
caregivers suspect that they may have an ASD, can have
them diagnosed to be sure. This is done using several
rating scales, observation checklists, and diagnostic
interviews.
As of 2018, 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with
ASD.
5 times as common in boys and occurs in all racial,
ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.
Autism is the fourth largest and fastest growing
Prevalence disability within the special education Causes
category.
During the 2012-2013 school year, 498,000
students between the ages of 3 and 21 received
special education under the category of autism.
Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) is a one-to-one treatment for several
hours per week before the age of 4 that allows children to learn how to behave
appropriately. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) uses behavioral principles such as
positive reinforcement to teach children skills in a planned, systematic manner.
Discrete trial training (DTT) is not ABA, and ABA can be done with DTT. DTT is
one-on-one sessions during which a routinized sequence of contrived learning trials
is presented as teacher and child sit at a table. Visual supports can be used to help
students with ASD cope with social situations and increase their independence in the
classroom. Visual activity schedules show a sequence of activities within a daily
Instruction routine or a series of steps for completing one task. Social stories explain social
situations and concepts, and the expected behaviors of the people involved in a
format understandable to an individual with ASD. Technologies such as
Smartboards, computers, and tablets with high-speed Internet access, three-
dimensional printers, and other peripheral devices can be used to assist students with
ASD. Facilitated communication (FC) is a process by which a facilitator (a teacher,
therapist, friend, or parent), provides physical support to assist an individual who
cannot speak or whose speech is limited to type on a keyboard or point at pictures,
words, or other symbols on a communication board. Evidence-based practices
should be always be used to assist students with ASD, not unproven treatments.
EDSP 200—Dr.
The characteristics of ASD include impaired social interaction,
communication and language deficits; repetitive, ritualistic, and
unusual behavior patterns; insistence on sameness, unusual
responsiveness to sensory stimuli, deficits in cognitive tasks and
skills, challenging behavior, intense interest in a particular
subject, difficulty with fine- and/or gross-motor skills, speech
Characteristics
and language impairments, difficulty understanding others’
feelings, superior rote memory, inflexible adherence to routines,
extensive vocabulary, reading commences at an early age, and
perfectionism. However, students with ASD can also have
positive attributes and strengths.
Neuropathy: Research shows a clear biological origin for ASD in the form of abnormal
prenatal and postnatal brain development, structure, or neurochemistry.
Genetics: having one child with ASD can increase one’s chances of having another child
with ASD, siblings have 35 times the normal risk of developing ASD, and identical twins
have a 56%-95% chance of developing ASD if one twin has it. ASD can be caused a
chromosomal abnormality or a genetic mutation.
Environmental: High levels of air pollution affect the mother or toxic chemicals can
affect the brain development.
Epigenetics is when environmental factors affect gene activity and make them irregular.
General Education Classrooms: Educating children with autism in
inclusive settings is becoming more common and more accepted. This
is because socially competent children are essential for peer-mediated
interventions, an evidence-based practice for children with autism.
Children who received EIBI transition well to public schools
compared to their peers with ASD that did not. Evidence-based
practices can be used in this classroom with all students to help
students with ASD learn and to make the classroom even more
Placement options inclusive.
Resource and Special Classrooms: The general education classroom
is not always the least restrictive environment for all students with
ASD because many children at the severe end of the autism spectrum
are best served in a setting where they can receive a highly
individualized program. A resource room can provide a more effective
setting in which to conduct small-group activities with peers from
general education classrooms.